West Michigan Roundup, Monday 12/5/22

West Michigan Roundup, Monday 12/5/22

The 2022-23 high school basketball season tipped off last night with a handful of games across Southwest Michigan. The new season brings excitement to teams across the area and myself as well since this will be my 5th season covering high school basketball. I did not release a preseason poll this season for the OK Conference or Southwest Michigan, but my first rankings of the season will be released next Sunday afternoon.

Watervliet 75, Dowagiac 36

• Watervliet began their season with a home game against D2 Dowagiac. The Panthers took care of the Chieftains with ease and were led by freshman Jacob Pleyer. Pleyer scored 17 points for Watervliet while shooting 6-8 from the field including 2-4 from three-point range. The Panthers also received contributions from Tyson Williams (15 pts), Kaiden Bierhalter (14 pts), and Wyatt Epple (10 pts). Watervliet may in fact be the best small-school team in Southwest Michigan.

Kalamazoo Phoenix 70, Gull Lake 47

• After Gull Lake’s season opener it seems as though they might be in rebuild mode this season. The Blue Devils have a new head coach and plenty of new faces after the graduation of Haidyn Garrison, Tyler Corstange, and Nathan Louden, three core players over the past couple of seasons for Gull Lake. The Blue Devils will travel to Loy Norrix in hopes of evening up their record on Friday.

Lawton 49, Michigan Lutheran 46

• Lawton, another team that lost several key pieces from last season (Jake Rueff, Chase Mitchell) snuck past a smaller school on opening night with a three-point win. It was sophomore Cole Burk leading the way for the Blue Devils with 14 points. Junior, Aiden O’Brien chipped in 11 points as well for Lawton.

Lake Michigan Catholic 46, Lawrence 39

• Lake Michigan Catholic escaped Lawrence with a seven-point victory. LMC was led by junior Owen McLoughlin’s 25 points. LMC is a young team to keep an eye on as they closed last season winning four of their final five games.

Niles Brandywine 68, Constantine 28

• Brandywine continues their basketball supremacy with a forty-point win on opening night. The Bobcats seem to be close to a top five small-school in Southwest Michigan every year. Junior guard Jaremiah Palmer led Brandywine in scoring with 21 points.